ONTARIO, CA—For the hometown crowd at “The Bank,” the sound of thunder for most of Saturday’s contest was their own silence as Stockton stunned the crowd of 4,063 with an early 5-1 lead. The Thunder would need every bit of that advantage, however, to secure their 6-5 victory after Ontario scored four third-period goals, turning a blowout into a nail-biter. With the win, Stockton tied the Pacific Division semifinals series at a game apiece and stole home-ice advantage with the next three games in Stockton. For the second night, a hat-trick was tallied in a losing effort. It appeared frictions at the end of game one carried over into the start of game two with Stockton defenseman Cleve Kinley and Ontario winger Brad Mahalko going off for coincidental roughing minors only 41 seconds in. The teams would trade power play opportunities before Thunder left wing Mike Lalonde would open the scoring unassisted at 13:23 and with it the floodgates. 30 seconds later, Kinley would slap one past Ontario netminder Jeff Zatkoff from the blue line for a 2-0 Stockton lead. The Thunder continued to dominate play when left wing Igor Gongalsky batted an Ontario clearing attempt out of the air and drove with the puck below the=2 0right circle, dishing a beautiful backhand pass to an open Brandon Naurato in the low slot for the one-timer over the blocker of Zatkoff. The marker at 17:22 was the first career playoff goal for the former Michigan Wolverine. Down 3-0, the Reign would pull back to within two late in the period on the first of Brad Holloway’s three goals, chipping in a rebound off a hard shot by defenseman Chad Starling with under a minute remaining in the opening period. Any momentum Ontario might have brought into period two by the late goal was quickly lost after Thunder center Judd Blackwater beat the Reign defense to a loose puck in the left corner. His wraparound attempt skittered through the crease to an unmarked Craig Valette for the easy finish with only 28 seconds off the clock. On the heels of a strong outing the previous night, Zatkoff started to look rattled, nearly offering up a goal on a vacant net after challenging for a loose puck at the left face-off dot. Only his questionable dislodging of the net spared him another Stockton score. What was left of Zatkoff’s luck ran out when Thunder rookie-standout Ryan Huddy ripped a wrist shot from the hash marks over the blocker, completing a three-on-two rush. Kept largely in check in game one, the goal at 15:39 was Huddy’s first of the playoffs. With Stockton now up 5-1 and a blowout in the making, play began to get chippy with Gongalsky and Walker coming together and subsequently sent off at 19:59 to end the period with Gongalsky receiving the additional slashing minor. The Reign would not capitalize on the 1:59 of carryover power play time on the fresh sheet. However, shortly after the penalty expired, an innocent looking backhand flip on net by winger Mike Howe deflected off Thunder defenseman Matt O’Dette and past goaltender Bryan Pitton, who was starting in place of the injured Andrew Perugini and the goal gave the Reign some life at 2:27 of the third. Despite some good chances, neither team would be able to score on man-advantages through the middle portion of the frame. With the clock winding down, the Reign began playing with a greater sense of urgency. The pressure resulted in Holloway’s second goal at 13:27 on a delayed penalty. Retrieving the puck in the right corner, the Reign’s Geoff Walker fired a pass through the crease to the waiting Holloway, who one-timed it over a diving Pitton. Ontario was now back within two goals and the crowd back in the game. When Holloway completed the trick a little over two minutes later, fluttering a puck over the sprawling Stockton goaltender for Ontario’s third unanswered goal of the period, the Reign seemed on the verge of a remarkable comeback. Stockton’s icing of the puck with 1:19 remaining prompted Reign coach Karl Taylor to pull Zatkoff for the extra attacker. Ontario controlled the puck, but a tremendous defensive effort by Gongalsky sprung Valette for the empty-netter and apparent knockout blow. This game was not over. With Zatkoff still on the bench, centerman Tim Krauss would tuck a loose puck off a point shot inside the left post with 25 seconds remaining in regulation. The Reign had one last chance with the net empty behind them and a face-off in the Stockton zone. The ensuing battle along the boards resulted in a clear by the Thunder and put an end to a wild period in which they nearly squandered a four-goal lead. The series now moves to Stockton for game three on Wednesday.
Contact john.soltis@prohockeynews.com.
Catch all the playoffs at Intotheboards.net
You must be logged in to post a comment.